Building construction



Jar 12, 1943;

L. L. WILLIAMS- 2,307,978

BUILDING CONS TRUCTI ON Filed ma 7 1941 LYTLE L. WILLIAMS a. q/ A QA142: EY

Patented Jan. 12, 1943 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Lytle L. Williams,Shreveport, La., assignor to Bird & Son, inc., East Walpole, Mass, acorporation of Massachusetts 7 Application May '7, 1941, Serial No.392,270

7 Claims.

This invention relates to building construction and more particularly tothe construction of interior walls and ceilings. V

In recent years it has become a common practice to substitute for theconventional plasteron-lath construction of room walls and ceilings, astructure comprising a substantially continuous support or backing ofwall board faced with a thick, flexible sheet material which serves as asubstitute for plaster. Walls and ceilings comprising such structure arecheaper, quicker and easier to construct than the plastsr-on-lath type.An advantageous construction of the type referred to, wherein the facingmaterial has desirable sound deadening characteristics and is surfacedwith a material which closely simulates the feel and appearance ofplaster or painted plaster, is disclosed in United States Patent No.2,217,165, to Graham and Lines.

In the construction of such plaster substitute walls and ceilings, ithas been the practice first to form a smooth supporting wall and ceilingstructure of wall board attached to the studding, then to secure thefacing material adhesively to the surface of the wall board. Difficultyhas been experienced in providing in this manner a smooth, unbrokensurface on the walls and ceiling from separate sections of the facingmaterial. If successive sections of the facing material were overlapped,unsightly irregularities in the surface resulted, due to the substantialthickness of the facing material. Consequently, the practice has been toapply adjacent sections of the facing material with their contiguousportions in flush edge-to-edge abutment when secured to the same wall,or in edge-to-face abutment when secured to dilferent intersecting wallsor the ceiling and wall. After a time, however, these abutting portionsof adjacent facing material sections are likely to become separated, dueto creepage of the sections caused by settlement of the building,warping of the supporting structure, etc., leaving unsightly gaps in thesurface.

InUnited States Patent No. 2,126,956 there is disclosed a method ofconstructing a wall structure of the type hereinabove described whereinthe facing material may be applied to the walls in the form of a singlelong sheet. While this method reduces section separation difliculties,it does not altogether eliminate them, since the ceiling is surfacedwith a separate sheet or sheets to which a side edge of the wallsurfacing sheet is abutted. Moreover, the fitting of a single facingsheet properly into the corners of the room is difficult and is likelyto result in bulging secured together.

such improved constructions wherein the overor wrinkling of thesurfacing material at the corners.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved wall andceiling construction of the type referred to wherein separate sheets ofplaster substitute facing material covering the ceiling and the wall areprevented from separating by having their contiguous edge portionsoverlapped and secured together. Another object of the invention is toprovide an improved wallconstruction of this type wherein adjacent wallsare surfaced with separate sheets of facing material which are preventedfrom separating by having their contiguous edge portions overlapped andA further object is to provide lapping of thick sheets of the facingmaterial is accomplished without producing irregularities in the surfaceat the areas of the overlap and wherein the joints are so concealed asto have the appearance of a continuous surface. These and other objectsand advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the ensuingparticular description and the appended drawing wherev in:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a portion of a room illustrating walland ceiling construction in accordance with the invention, a portion ofthe wall surface being broken away to show supporting structure;

Fig. 2 is a section view of a portion of the ceiling and an adjoiningwall, taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, illustrating the manner ofoverlapping ceiling and wall surfacing material sections;

Fig. 3 is a section view of a portion of the adjoining walls at a cornerof the room, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawing and first to Fig. l, the wall andceiling supporting structure comprises gypsum lath I0, or other wallboard, attached to the usual studding l2 to provide a substantiallycontinuous surface. Upon the surface of the supporting wall board areadhesively secured separate sheets 14, I6 and I8 of thick, flexibleplaster-substitute facing material, the sheets I 4, l6 and I8 formingrespectively the surface for the ceiling supporting structure I5 and thetwo adjoining wall supporting structures l1 and I9 shown in Fig. 1.

While any thick, flexible plaster substitute facing material issuitable, that which is preferred and which is shown in the appendeddrawing comprises a sound-absorbent felt base 20 and a flexible surfacelayer 2| of a substance which simulates the feel and appearance ofplaster or painted plaster. A suitable facing material of the typeshown, having a thickness of the order of .065" to .075, is more fullydescribed in Patent No. 2,217,165 above referred to and is commerciallyavailable.

The wall surfacing sheets l6 and 18 are preferably of a widthsubstantially equal to the height of the walls and a length sufficientto cover the entire wall when laid lengthwise thereon. They, and theceiling surfacing sheet or sheets, may conveniently be applied to thewall and thereafter trimmed in the manner disclosed in Patent No.2,126,956.

In accordance with the present invention, the surface of the wall boardsupporting structure ll) of each of the walls, instead of being smooththroughout as heretofore, is provided along its entire upper edge with arecess or rabbet 22, open toward the ceiling, which has a depthsubstantially equal to the thickness of the ceiling surfacing materialM. The ceiling surfacing material it, which is applied in advance of thewall surfacing sheets, is so cut as to have a portion 24 thereofprojecting downwardly from the edge of the ceiling for substantially thefull width of the recess 22. This projecting portion 24 is then fittedinto the recess 22 and adhesively secured therein as best shown in Fig.2, and, since the depth of the recess is substantially equal to thethickness of the material M, the outer surface of the portion 24 liessubstantially flush with the surface of the wall board below thechannel.

The wall surfacing sheets are then adhesively secured to the surface of,their respective wall board supporting structures with their upper edgeportions overlying and adhesively secured to the portions 24 of theceiling surfacing material Hi and with their upper edges closelyabutting the surface of the ceiling facing material It adja cent theupper edge of the portion 24.

Recess 22 is made considerably wider than its depth 30 that asubstantial area of the sheets I6 and it may be overlapped upon thesheet M and adhesively secured thereto. I have found that a width of oneto two inches is ordinarily adequate for this purpose.

There is thus provided a firm, lasting joint between ceiling and wallsurfacing sheets which prevents their separation due to creepage of therespective sheets, which does not produce any irregularity in the wallor ceiling surface and which, due to the close abutment of the edge ofthe wall surfacing material with the surface of the ceiling, is entirelyconcealed from View.

The wall surfacing sheets I6 and H! are permanently locked together attheir adjacent ends in the same manner. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, thewall board of the wall supporting structure It is provided, at its endwhich abuts the wall supporting structure H, with a recess or rabbet 26open toward the structure U, extending from the base of the supportingstructure l9 to the recess 22 at the upper edge of the structure IS. Therecess 26 has a width corresponding to that of the recess 22 and a depthsubstantially equal to the thickness of the wall surfacing sheet [6which will ordinarily be of the same thickness as the ceiling-surfacingmaterial l4 and the wall-surfacing sheet I8 Wall surfacing sheet i6 hasa projecting end 28 which fits into the recess 26 and is adhesivelysecured therein; Wall surfacing sheet [8 is then applied with its endportion overlying and adhesively secured to the portion 28 of the sheet[6 and has its end edge closely abutted against the face of sheet l8adjacent the portion 23.

At the intersection of the recesses 22 and 26, all three sections may beoverlapped, the common portion of the two recesses being made ofincreased depth to accommodate the extra layer of facing material inthis area. However, in practice, I have found it unnecessary to overlapthe three sheets in this area, and, instead, I cut away the end of theprojecting portion 28 that would overlie this area, forming a butt jointbetween the portions 24 and 28 at the edge of this area. This joint isthen concealed by the overlapping facing sheet l8.

While I prefer to apply the surfacing material to intersecting walls ofa room in the form ofone or more separate sections or panels for eachwall, secured together at their ends in the manner herein described,this is not essential and the invention may be advantageously utilizedto form a permanent, smooth joint between ceiling surfacing material andthe upper edge portion of a single long strip of surfacing materialapplied over all or several of the walls of a room, as disclosed inabove-mentioned Patent No. 2,126,956. The invention may, of course, beutilized simply to join together wall surfacing sheets without joiningthem to the ceiling surfacing material, in which case only the recesses26 will be provided in the supporting structure. Recess 22 mightobviously be formed in the edge of the ceiling support structure i4instead of in the wall support structures i6 and I8 as shown, in whichcase the edge portion of the wall surfacing sheet or sheets would extendover the juncture between walls and ceiling into the recess where itwould be overlapped by the edge portion of the ceiling surfacing sheet.

The supporting wall board may be recessed for purposes of the inventionin any convenient manner. It may, as shown, be readily cut away in thepredetermined areas to the desired width and depth before or afterapplication to the studding. Or, if desired, a similar result may beproduced by employing, in the predetermined areas, special narrow stripsof wall board which are thinner, by the desired depth for the recess,than the wall board forming the remainder of the supporting surface.

By the term thick as used in the appended claims, I mean a thickness ofthe order of .05 to .1 or more and such that the overlapping of separatesections of the material on a planar support will produce a markedirregularity between their surfaces.

Having described my invention, what I wish to claim and secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a construction for room walls and ceilings which includes a pairof permanent, substantially continuous supporting structures joinedtogether at an angle, one of which structures comprises an outer surfaceof wall board, a recess in said wall board surface extending along theedge thereof at the juncture between said structures, a facing sheet ofthick, flexible plaster-substitute material adhesively secured to thesurface of said other structure and having an edge portion eX- tendingover the juncture between said structures and secured in said. recesswith its surface substantially flush with said wall board surface beyond said recess, and a second sheet of thick, flexibleplaster-substitute material adhesively secured to said wall boardsurface and having an edge portion overlying and adhesively secured. to

said edge portion of said first named sheet lying in said recess.

2. In a construction for room walls and cellings which includes a pairof permanent, substantially continuous supporting structures joinedtogether at an angle, one of which structures comprises an outer surfaceof wall board, a recess in said wall board surface extending along theedge thereof at the juncture between said structures, a facing sheet ofthick, flexible plastersubstitute material adhesively secured to thesurface of said other structure and having an edge portion extendingover the juncture between said structures and secured in said recesswith its surface substantially fiush with said wall board surface beyondsaid recess, and a second sheet of thick, flexible plaster-substitutematerial adhesively secured to said wall board surface, said secondsheet having an edge abutting the surface of said first named sheetbeyond said edge portion of said first named sheet lying in said recess,said edge portion of said second sheet overlying and secured to saidedge portion of said first named sheet.

3. In a construction for a room wall and ceiling which includespermanent, substantially continuous supporting structures for said walland ceiling joined together at an angle, one of which structurescomprises an outer surface of wall board, a recess in said wall boardsurface along the edge thereof at the juncture between said structuresand extending inwardly of said surface from said edge, a facing sheet ofthick, flexible plaster-substitute material adhesively secured to thesurface of said other structure and having an edge portion extendingover the juncture between said structures and secured in said recesswith its surface substantially fiush with said wall board surface beyondsaid recess, and a second sheet of thick, flexible plaster-substitutematerial adhesively secured to said wall board surface and having anedge portion overlying and adhesively secured to said edge portion ofsaid first named sheet lying in said recess.

4. In a construction for adjoining walls of a room which includespermanent, substantially continuous supporting structures for said wallsjoined together at an angle, one of which structures comprises an outersurface of wall board, a recess in said wall board surface along theedge thereof at the juncture between said structures and extendinginwardly of said surface from said edge, a facing sheet of thick,flexible plastersubstitute material adhesively secured to the surface ofsaid other structure and having an edge portion extending over thejuncture between said structures and secured in said recess with itssurface substantially fiush with said wall board surface beyond saidrecess, and a second sheet of thick, flexible plaster-substitutematerial adhesively secured to said wall board surface and having anedge portion overlying and adhesively secured to said edge portion ofsaid first named sheet lying in said recess.

5. In a construction for a ceiling and a pair of adjoining walls whichincludes permanent, substantially continuous supporting structures ofwall board for said walls and ceiling joined together in angularrelation, a recess in an edge portion of the surface of at least one ofsaid structures extending horizontally along the juncture of saidceiling and wall structures, a recess in the surface of one of said wallsupporting structures extending vertically along the edge of said wallsupporting structure adjoining said other wall supporting structure andcommunicating with said first named recess, facing sheets of thick,flexible plaster-substitute material adhesively secured to the surfaceof said structures, at least one of said sheets having an edge portionextending over the juncture between said structures into said horizontalrecess and adhesively secured therein, said edge portion beingoverlapped by and adhesively secured to the under surface of another ofsaid sheets, one of said wall facing sheets having an edge portionextending over the juncture between said wall supporting structures andsecured in said second named recess, said last named edge portion beingoverlapped by and adhesively secured to the under surface of said facingsheet on the other of said walls, the outermost sheet overlying saidrecesses having the outer surface of its overlapping portion in theplane of the adjacent surface of said sheet.

6. In a method for facing with a thick, flexible, plaster-substitutematerial, a substantially continuous supporting structure of wall boardand an adjoining supporting structure, said structures defining a roomwall and ceiling, the steps which comprise forming said wall boardstructure with a recess along that edge thereof which adjoins saidsecond structure, said recess having a depth substantially equal to thethickness of said facing material, adhesively securing a sheet of saidfacing material to said second structure, fitting and adhesivelysecuring an edge portion of said sheet in said recess with its outersurface substantially fiush with the surface of said wall boardstructure adjoining said recess, adhesively securing a second sheet ofsaid material to the surface of said wall board structure with an edgeportion of said sheet overlapping the edge portion of said first namedsheet lying in said recess, and adhesively uniting said lapped portionsof said sheets.

7. In a method for facing with a thick, flexible plaster-substitutematerial, a substantially continuous wall supporting structure of wallboard and an adjoining wall supporting structure, the steps whichcomprise forming said wall board structure with a recess along that edgethereof which adjoins said second structure, said recess having a depthsubstantially equal to the thickness of said facing material, adhesivelysecuring a sheet of said facing material to said second structure,fitting and adhesively securing an edge portion of said sheet in saidrecess with its outer surface substantially flush with the surface ofsaid wall board structure adjoining said recess, adhesively securing asecond sheet of said material to the surface of said wall boardstructure with an edge portion of said sheet overlapping the edgeportion of said first named sheet lying in said recess, and adhesivelyuniting said lapped portions of said sheets.

LYTLE L. WILLIAMS.

